Month: November 2015

Winter is here. The first named winter storm of the season was named Ajax by the weather channel on Monday. The storm is or will be producing blizzard conditions in the Rocky Mountains and High Plains areas of the United States. The Denver area was in a blizzard warning from Monday night Tuesday Afternoon. It is predicted that the Denver area could end up with as much as two feet of snow. Alex Sullivan, a student at Morningside College from Colorado describes what the snow is usually like in that area. [Interview] Not to worry though, so far, the storm has been turning to rain as it reaches the Sioux City area.

Imagine a dot 20,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair. Those dots are called quantum dots and a new start-up company is looking to use them to revolutionize cell phone cameras next year. InVasage Technologies will be releasing the QuantumFilm Image sensor chip in the opening quarter of 2016. This sensor will be integrated into cell phone cameras and allow for a higher dynamic range in pictures. It also will have a fast-acting global shutter in the chip that avoids the Jello-wobble effect of cell phone videos.

Skol Vikings. The Minnesota Vikings have taken the number one place in the NFC North on Sunday with their victory over the Oakland Raiders. Vikings fan Derek Krayenhagen gives one of the main reasons many fans are excited. [Interview] This is the first time they’ve led the division since 2009 when Brett Farve was their quarterback. Now with Adrian Peterson leading the NFL in rushing yards and Teddy Bridgewater proving his worth at quarterback, the Vikings have won five straight games. The well designed offense has allowed them to play to the team’s strengths and their defense has also been up to the task and is currently the number one defense in the NFL. Their next matchup is on Nov 22 against the Green Bay Packers.

The first affordable, truly social humanoid robot has arrived. In February of this year Softbank, a Japanese cellphone company, released Pepper with a price tag under two thousand dollars. Pepper has been designed to not only interact with people but also read nonverbal social cues. This allows Pepper to interact with people on a whole new level. However, Pepper only has the understanding of a small child so some things may go over the robot’s head. Don’t let that discourage you though. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son says that Pepper was created to “be a member of the family.”